Gluten Free Fudgy Pecan Brownies

After spying this fabulously frugal, no-frills brownie recipe in my June issue of Everyday Food (a great magazine, by the way), I knew I had to give it a shot. The ingredients were easy to find, the result looked absolutely delicious, and I had long decided that I wanted to dabble in gluten-free baking. Just, ‘ya know, get my feet wet. Boy, am I glad I did! These brownies are to. die. for.

These rich, nutty brownies use cornstarch in place of flour, and so they don’t contain any gluten. For those of you unaware, gluten is a protein found in grains such as wheat, rye and barley. People who observe a gluten-free diet may be allergic to this protein, or suffer from celiac disease. It’s easy to see a gluten-free diet as restrictive, but you’d be surprised at all the fresh foods that are safe and still satisfying!

The beautiful batch of brownies that resulted from this recipe were scrumptious and so simple to make. Soft, fudgy and mouthwatering with a glass of milk, it wasn’t hard to see that gluten free could also mean gosh darn delicious! Plus, they were so rich that only a small square was more than enough. Substitute pecans for walnuts or omit them altogether, if you’d like. To find some great recipes and learn more about living gluten-free, visit With Style & Grace, Gluten Free Goddess, and Elana’s Pantry. Those ladies make flourless baking fancy and low-carb cooking absolutely irresistible!

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly butter an 8-inch square baking pan and line with parchment paper, leaving a bit of overhang on two sides (Buttering underneath the parchment will help it lay flat on the baking pan).

In a small bowl, whisk together cornstarch, cocoa, cinnamon and salt. Set aside.

In a large microwaveable bowl, microwave butter and chocolate in 20-second increments, stirring between, until melted and smooth, about 2 minutes. Stir in sugar and vanilla. Stir in eggs one at a time, until combined. Add cornstarch mixture and stir vigorously until mixture is smooth and begins to pull away from side of bowl, about 2 minutes. Stir in pecans.

Pour batter into pan and smooth top. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached, about 35 minutes. Let cool completely in pan on a wire rack or trivet. Using paper overhang, lift brownies out of pan and cut into 16 squares.

These brownies look divine! I love that they’re gf but still look so fudgy. Very creative with the use of pecans too! I know walnuts are most common in brownies but now I’m dying to try pecans in them haha :)

wow.. cornstarch.. these sound incredible.. i would never think of adding cornstarch. i loveeeeeeee fudgy gooey brownies, pecans sounds wonderful, i love some kind of nut, usually walnut or pecans. :-)

Oh my… your pictures are amazing! They look SO fudgy. I don’t have to eat gluten-free but sometimes I make something gluten-free just because I like to mix things up a little. And I’ve been mostly surprised that I like the stuff. But these, these look way better than anything gluten-free I’ve made so far!

I’m such a brownie lover but hardly ever make them because I find it difficult to make them brownie-like without wheat flour. I’ll definitely try your GF recipe, as everyone in my house loves their sweets and no one eats wheat! :) YUM!

I would have never known these brownies are made with corn starch. They look like the real deal, very fudge like with the perfect brownie looking finish :-) I am too starting to bake more on the gluten side of things, well sometimes since I actually don’t have to. Your pictures look very luxurious :-)

Georgia, these brownies look divine. You’d never know that they were missing flour. I have never tried a gluten-free recipe before, but I think I’m going to have to change that. BTW, I love that magazine.

I love this… I have a friend with a gluten allergy I love to make treats for him. However I rarely have any of the fancy gluten free flours/baking mixes. For once a gluten free recipe that I have ALL the ingredients for!

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